20 IMCWP, Written contribution of the Communist Party of Israel

11/23/18 9:24 PM

At the outset, allow me to extend a warm comradely greeting to the hosting party, comrades of the Communist Party of Greece, for hosting this important meeting of our Communist and Workers’ parties. And to extend to you the warmest greetings on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of this veteran party - a memory that is a milestone in the life, ambition and struggle of the Greek people for peace and Greece's full political and economic independence.

Dear comrades,

This year, our annual conference being held while major changes occurin the world and the region. Trump's administration in the White House, however reckless and insane, in fact reflects the inability of American imperialism to continue govern the world in the same unipolar system that prevailed in the last three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union. We do not claim that the American imperialism, its instruments and allies are “paper tigers”, we rather capture its danger, bloodthirst and defiance to International Law and peoples’ rights; we also acknowledge that the failure of its projects in our region specifically, announces the collapse of this bygone regime, and the crystallization of a new order in which the powers will rearrange their regional and global and alliances.

Trump's alliance with the fascist and settler right-wing government in Israel, with the bloody reactionary regimes in the Gulf, with the racist anti-Semitic and anti-Islam in Europe - all reflect the aggressive, structural nature of the imperialist capitalist system and emphasize the need to confront it in every square.

In our country, the Netanyahu government seeks to liquidate the Palestinian cause, and to completely eliminate the right to self-determination of the ArabPalestinian people within the framework of the so-called "Deal of the Century”, which through the liquidation of the refugees’ issue; ending the issue of Jerusalem through the transfer of the American Embassy to it and recognizing it as the capital of Israel; the fragmentation of the West Bank and the separation of its north from its south through the continued deepening of settlements, specifically through the displacement and destruction of Khan al-Ahmar; and the imposition of the economically, politically, socially and humanitarian siege on the Gaza Strip to limit the Palestinian cause in the Gaza Strip only and turn it into a “small land”-without the West Bank. Last, imposing the national law on the Palestinian Arab citizens in the State of Israel

The other side of this policy is the spread of fascism in Israeli society, the violation of freedom of expression, the press, academia, culture and the arts, on the systematic work and rights and achievements of the working class in Israel, and the escalation of hatred and racism towards Arab citizens and all marginalized groups in Israeli society.

Therefore, we deplore and condemn the political and military economic cooperation between the governments of Israel and Greece, which includes joint military exercises, allowing Israeli air forces to train in Greek airspace, extending gas pipelines between Israel, Cyprus, Greece and more, perhaps from what we do not know! We call for an end to this cooperation and pressure on the extreme right-wing government in Israel to solve the Palestinian issue fairly. The continuation of this cooperation in the context of Israeli intransigence and the continued denial of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, the deepening of settlements and the policy of aggression and the practice of a policy of racial discrimination against the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel does not serve the cause of peace and stability in the Middle East.

Dear comrades,

The American brutality and the policy of enslavement of peoples in the war of aggression against Syria and the Syrian people have been closely coordinated with the Arab reactionary and Israel. A war aimed at eliminating Syria as a political entity with a clear political position, a position hostile to imperialism and supportive of the Axis of Resistance. The Syrian people succeeded in thwarting this conspiracy and in maintaining its unity, territorial integrity and national independence thanks to its great sacrifices, the convoys of the martyrs and the standing of all the good forces in the world alongside it. Since the first day of the aggression, our party, the Communist Party of Israel, has had a clear position that the Syrian people have the right, the sole and the legitimate, to choose its leadership and to formulate its political position; and that any external interference is a blatant aggression against the Syrian people and its national independence and territorial integrity . It is the right of the Syrian people and all the peoples of the world to enjoy a life dominated by democracy and social justice.

The war on Yemen by the Arab reaction led by Saudi Arabia, which falls into the colonial context and an attempt to limit the people's desire for liberation and true national independence, is considered a criminal aggression against the Yemeni people and the continuation of this war is a crime against all humanity, especially in light of the worsening humanitarian crisis.

Dear comrades,

Our party is engaged in daily struggles, political and social, against racism and fascism, against the occupation and for the rights of the Arab Palestinian population in Israel.

Our party, less than a month ago, ran in the Municipal elections in more than 70 local authorities, where we succeeded in increasing our representation in the Arab local authorities and in the mixed cities and we won the presidency in about ten local Arab authorities. This is a great success in the attack on the left and the Arab population and their representatives .

Our party emphasizes the historic and immediate importance of building the widest possible Arab-Jewish front to unify all active forces in Israel against occupation and Apartheid. We want this broad front to fight for democracy and to repel fascism – and to serve the true interests of the two peoples in this country. We want this front to work on liberating Israeli society from the impact of Zionist brainwashing on the importance and legitimacy of this occupation.

Dear comrades,

Our party is fighting hard against the increase in work accidents, especially in the construction sector, where more than 39 workers have lost there lives as a result of negligence in this sectordue to greedy money whales and contractors and the authorities’ reluctance in enforcing the laws of protection and safety in the workplace. This is a class issue, but it is also national, since the vast majority of the construction workers are Arabs, so the majority of the victims are Arabs. Thanks to the struggle of our comrades in the unions and the threat of public strike in all branches of the economy, the government has had to respond to the majority of demands to provide safety and protection for workers in this branch.

.Our party, and its popular and parliamentary activism, have a central position in this struggle against the racist Nation-State law, which is rightly considered one of the manifestations of the fascist incursion into Israeli society. This law is an apartheid law with a distinction that states that there is no equality between citizens of the state, and that 20% of the citizens are citizens of the second degree, recognizes discrimination on a national basis, and eliminates the status of the Arabic language. We say that this homeland is the homeland of the Arab Palestinian population, which have no other homeland, and that their rights in their homeland derive from their belonging to it and form their right to self-determination. Here we will live and struggle for full equality of rights - national and civic equality. No less!

Our party notes the tight connection between the legislations aiming at consolidating the occupation and the attacks on the remaining fragile democratic margin in the country. The right-wing government recognizes that the implementation of its plans requires the final elimination of any source of demanding accountability and therefore it wages its war on the media and the judiciary system-it thus continues to slide towards real fascism.

The continued occupation in our country is the basis of the scourge. We therefore call upon all fraternal parties to step up their struggle in support of the right of the Palestinian Arab people to self-determination and to establish their independent state within the borders of June 4th, 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy. This is the only true guarantee for the security and future of the two peoples in our country and for all the peoples of the region.